Openreach’s Fibre First’programme aims to deliver expanded “full fibre” FTTP networks in up to 40 towns, cities and boroughs, setting it on a trajectory to reach 10million British premises by the mid-2020s.

It has committed to making FTTP available in three million British homes and business by the end of 2020 and, if the conditions are right, intends to go significantly further, bringing the benefits of FTTP technology to the majority of homes and businesses in the UK.

Twelve new fibre engineering schools are being established in the UK, including one at Oberon Road, Exeter Business Park.

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Openreach expects to invest about £400,000 over the next 12 months equipping the Exeter centre with the latest fibre engineering training facilities.

Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: “These trainee engineers will be playing a vital role in the future success and prosperity of the UK.

“Over the past year our 22,200 engineers have been the driving force behind Government reaching its target of making superfast broadband available to more than 95 per cent of the country, whilst also improving our customer service performance – but we want to do more.

“Every day, Openreach engineers are working in all weathers across Britain connecting homes and businesses and making sure people can access the high quality broadband services they need.

“We are already investing in up-skilling our engineering team and today’s announcement of new jobs, including 455 in the South West, underlines our commitment to make our Fibre First programme a reality – future-proofing Britain’s broadband network and supporting emerging mobile technologies like 5G.”

Emma Howarth, programme director in the South West for Openreach, said: “This latest recruitment represents a further major investment in the South West.

Openreach is recruiting 455 engineers in the South West

It’s very exciting news for our region. We’re looking forward to men and women from all walks of life applying for these roles at Openreach as we’re keen to engage with the aspiring engineers of tomorrow and to build a diverse workforce that reflects the hugely diverse communities we serve.

“Becoming an engineer can be a rewarding career, and we’re constantly improving our training and recruitment programmes to make sure we attract and keep the best engineers in the business.

“This year we’ve invested heavily in up-skilling our people, so they can now do more for customers in a single visit and we recently launched new career pathways to give our engineers a clear sense of the skills, accountabilities and experience they need to get where they want to be.

“We’re committed to helping people realise their potential so we’re also delighted to be offering work experience placements, under the Movement to Work programme , to 18- to 24-year-olds who are currently not in education, employment or training."

Broadband – the facts

Ultrafast broadband is defined as speeds of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) whilst Superfast broadband is defined as speeds of more than 24Mbps

FTTP connections can deliver “ultrafast” broadband speeds of up to 1Gigabit per second (Gbps) – enough to stream 200 HD videos simultaneously.

Openreach employs 22,200 field engineers and last year hired more than 1,800 new engineers.

Openreach’s UK-wide network is almost 160million km long – enough to go around the world 4,000 times – and serves more than 30million British homes and businesses.